Stik.com: Valley to Detroit!

The Detroit tech movement continues to pick up significant steam, with the lastest news being the relocation of Stik.com from San Francisco to Detroit. Stik, which allows users to provide and seek business referrals via Facebook, was started by two Michiganders (one of whom was a friend of Brian Emeott's at Harvard!) and will be moving into the Madison building, bringing six employees and plans to hire more.

 I'm excited to have them in town. I had a chance to go to lunch last week with one of the founders, Nathan, and enjoyed hearing about their business as well as the thought that went into the decision to move to Detroit. From what I gathered, moving their company to Detroit wasn't simply a "I want to move back to my home state" decision, though that obviously played a role. Detroit indeed offered significant advantages over the hectic pace of San Francisco, particularly in finding and holding onto talent, and that advantage (especially if it bears fruit for Stik.com) bodes well for Detroit's startup community. Welcome to Detroit, Stik!

Check out their site to gather referrals from your friends for just about any professional service: Doctors, real estate agents, insurance agents, financial planners. And be sure to keep an eye on them as they grow their business in Detroit!

Detroit Labs futzing its way to success

This is a cool article discussing the growth and success of Detroit Labs as well as its desire to become an innovation factory, dedicating one day a week to product development. Detroit's tech story continues to pick up steam.

When asked how he counters Detroit skeptics, you can hear Glomski winding up into a less-than-mild-Midwesterner riposte. “Here’s where you’ll find a company like Detroit Labs, where in a year’s time we’ve done amazing things,” he says. “We won a Gold Lion at Cannes Creativity Festival. We’ve grown a talented group of 20 developers and designers that companies like Zynga and Facebook would love to have. We make real revenue; we’re profitable. How many startups in San Francisco or New York could you say that of in their first year?”

Valley to Detroit

Detroit luring Silicon Valley professionals. What?!

The leaders behind the Detroit movement released this website on Monday, luring recently laid off Yahoo employees to Detroit where there are currently hundreds of technology jobs.

"Detroit is quickly emerging as one of the nation's best kept secrets when it comes to technology, Internet and mobile-related jobs," said Josh Linkner, CEO and Managing Partner of Detroit Venture Partners, a Detroit-based high-tech venture capital fund.  "We know that there is a great deal of talent inside of Yahoo – especially in marketing and web development, and we're encouraging those who have been impacted by job cuts to consider Detroit as the next stop in their career."

But it's not only about the jobs. As Bill Emerson correctly points out, taking a job in Detroit means seizing a unique opportunity that exists no where else in the country. The opportunity to play a pivotal part in reinventing an entire city.

"We are creating an exciting urban core for young, energetic and creative professionals who want to affect the outcome of an entire region," said Bill Emerson, CEO of Quicken Loans, who has consistently ranked in the top-10 of Computerworld's 'Best Places to Work in Technology' over the past decade.  "Not only does Detroit make for a great place to start or grow a business, but it's also a great option for those who want to be on the ground-floor of rebuilding and reinventing a great American city."

The Detroit conversation is changing from one of death to that of rebirth. Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (we hope for better things; it shall rise from the ashes)

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/09/valley-to-detroit-motor-city-woos-laid-off-yahoo-employees/